Law Firm Resources & News

How to file a complaint about a nursing home 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

How to file a complaint about a nursing home

I am grateful we live in a country where consumers have a choice of the products and services they buy. Occasionally, you may live in a rural or remote part of the country where you only have a few choices – one car dealer, one dentist, one grocery store, one nursing home. So what do…

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Loss of a child – is the doctor at fault? 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Loss of a child – is the doctor at fault?

There isn’t anything worse than losing a child. And it doesn’t matter when it happens – it rips your heart out and is hard to recover. In fact, it is hard to even breathe after it happens. And in many circumstances, nothing could have prevented the loss. No test, no medication, no early induction or…

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Hospital Surveys and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital 150 150 Dan Frith

Hospital Surveys and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital

It seems to me that every few months some publication comes out with its “Top 10” list for something…restaurants, doctors, lawyers, hotels, beaches, etc. I guess we should take such articles with a grain of salt. My local hospital, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, is quick to promote the results of surveys which give it high…

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How to plan so Medicaid can pay for your loved one’s nursing home. 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

How to plan so Medicaid can pay for your loved one’s nursing home.

The title of this blog is almost ironic. Medicaid, under Virginia law, will pay for the long term care of certain elderly patients who do not have the financial resources to pay for the needed care themselves. Amazingly, families with resources (homes, stocks, cars, and retirement plans) often assume that if they just re-title assets in…

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Best Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Virginia – Legal Elite 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Best Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Virginia – Legal Elite

I would like to congratulate my partner Dan Frith who was once again named Legal Elite and recognized for his experience representing victims of Medical Malpractice in Virginia. Virginia Business Magazine bases this annual selection on what other attorneys are saying. http://www.virginiabusiness.com/reports/article/health-law-list Dan is not only a smart, tenacious and skilled attorney, he is also…

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Is an assisted living facility a health care provider? 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Is an assisted living facility a health care provider?

I live in an area where retirees and healthcare are big business. Some of the largest and most profitable employers in the area are our hospitals, nursing homes and continuing care retirement communities. Billboards interrupt our pastoral landscape with images of happy seniors, smiling and laughing over a glass of wine, or relaxing in a…

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Fewer Transfers = More Profit ? 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Fewer Transfers = More Profit ?

I recently wrote in our medical malpractice blog about how the focus on profitability in long-term acute care hospitals may affect discharge dates for patients.  Long-term acute care hospitals may be the step just before long-term care and skilled nursing facilities, so I have included that content below: Most of us take for granted that…

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Hospital Discharges for Peak Profit? 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Hospital Discharges for Peak Profit?

Most of us take for granted that we and the ones we love would only be discharged from a hospital when we are actually medically ready to be discharged.  A recent report by the Wall Street Journal suggests that at least part of the equation for some hospitals is maximizing profitability. Long-term acute care facilities operate…

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Why Medicare Ratings for Nursing Homes matter 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Why Medicare Ratings for Nursing Homes matter

Would you eat at a restaurant the local health department has rated a D in food safety? Probably not knowingly. So why then, do families place their loved ones in facilities that Medicare has openly rated a 1 out of 5 stars on patient safety? Hopefully, families don’t do this knowingly. They sadly didn’t realize…

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Noncompete agreements for governmental contractors – what those big legal words actually mean! 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Noncompete agreements for governmental contractors – what those big legal words actually mean!

Over the last nine years, we have represented hundreds (yes, I think I can say that fairly) of individuals that serve as a contractor to some governmental agency. No, they are no employees of DOD, or DHS, or the FDA, they are hired by third parties to staff projects, or work for these agencies. And,…

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Healthcare in America: For Better or Worse 150 150 Dan Frith

Healthcare in America: For Better or Worse

I cringe when I hear a friend boldly state that “America has the best healthcare in the world.”  Granted, we are pretty good at some things but not for others, and the exhoribant and increasing costs of healthcare is a topic for another day. Over 5 years ago Medicare decided to create a list of preventable medical mistates…

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Liquidated Damages Provisions – are they valid? 150 150 Lauren Ellerman

Liquidated Damages Provisions – are they valid?

  What is a liquidated damages provision, and why should you care? Just this morning I was reviewing a Release / Non-Compete Agreement that contained language like the following: The parties agree to liquidated damages in the amount of $10,000. What does that really mean? 1. Depends on state law Well to begin, what it…

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